I think we can all agree that it has been quite a winter, no matter where you live. The days with snow and subzero temperatures have been too many to count for us here in Minnesota.
Today is just another one of those days. The wind is absolutely howling out there at around 30 mph. With temps around 5-7°F, those high winds are creating wind chills of around -16°F on this bright and sunny day.
Jesse has spent a lot of hours clearing snow around the farm this winter. He is outside now trying to clear the snow and break through the drifts, knowing he will need to do it again later this evening again because of the blowing.
Like so many days so far this winter, we are in a wind chill warning through Tuesday. Temperatures are expected to plunge further below zero and we can look forward to wind chills of -35° F to -45° F tomorrow. Brrrrr!!!!
We just received the robo-call from the school district that all classes and activities are canceled for tomorrow…again!! We have had 3 days of school canceled because of frigid temperatures so far this month. Our youngest (and the only chick left in the nest) celebrates every time we get word of another cancellation, but I doubt he will think it is so great in April when he is making up the days over the scheduled spring break. 🙂
Since I am not outside doing this…
I have managed to entertain myself indoors by starting to dream of spring. We are going to refresh our flock of laying hens this spring and have also decided to order some chicks to raise for eating again. So, I have been paging through this catalog… (Murray McMurray Hatchery).
After much deliberation, I ordered 12 baby chicks of 7 different varieties for our new laying hens and 25 chicks for meat birds.
Thinking about and planning for spring makes the long cold winters a bit more tolerable, don’t you think?
Another way of coping with blustery winter days is to find a sunny spot inside and curl up on a cozy blanket, bathing yourself in sunshine.
Wherever you are, I hope you are staying warm and finding your own ways to cope with this crazy winter!
–Lynell
Just Two Farm Kids 